ARMNBA: Interpreting the Neolithic and Bronze Age in Britain

Module code: ARMNBA

Module provider: Archaeology; School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science

Credits: 20

Level: Postgraduate Masters

When you'll be taught: Semester 2

Module convenor: Professor Duncan Garrow, email: d.j.garrow@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 20 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module will enable you to develop your understanding of the archaeology of Neolithic and Bronze Age Britain. It will focus in particular on how we interpret the archaeological record of this period, looking at how theoretical ideas have developed, especially over the past twenty years. The module is taught through a combination of introductory lectures and directed reading-based discussion seminars. You will also participate in a one-day field trip to see some key Neolithic and Early Bronze Age sites first hand.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of the key aspects of the chronological and geographical development of communities in Britain from c. 4000 to 800 BC
2. Situate these changes within the context of north-west Europe more widely
3. Critically evaluate the merits of the key theoretical shifts which have taken place within archaeology of the past 25 years, not just in abstract terms but through a series of concrete archaeological examples
4. Present archaeological arguments in written form, and be able to support them with relevant case studies

Module content

This module focuses on the archaeology of Neolithic and Bronze Age Britain. The types of issue it will cover are: monumentality and landscape, architecture and the temporality of occupation, attitudes to death and the body, identity and personhood, hoards and ritual deposition, and food, climate and the environment. While the module focuses primarily on evidence from Britain, examples from Ireland and north-west Europe more widely will also be drawn upon where appropriate.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

This course is taught through a combination of lectures, seminars, group discussions and debates, directed reading, assignments and a field trip.

There will be 11 main teaching sessions. Each session will last two hours, mostly divided into a one hour lecture, and a one-hour discussion/seminar.

As a 20 credit module, the module should involve 200 hours of study time: attending lectures and seminars, general background reading, preparing for seminars, and reading for, and writing, your written coursework. 

Study hours

At least 31 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 50% to pass this module

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Reassessment

Additional costs